According to Statistics Canada, the Machinery and Equipment Price Index (MEPI) increased 0.4 percent in the second quarter, following a 1.0 percent rise in the first quarter. The import component was up 0.4 percent, while the domestic component increased 0.1 percent.
All manufacturing (+0.8 percent) was the largest contributor to the quarterly increase in the MEPI. Other major contributors were mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (+0.7 percent) and public administration (+0.5 percent).
Logging, mining and construction machinery and equipment (+0.7 percent), other industry-specific machinery (+1.4 percent) and aircraft and aircraft engines (+1.0 percent) all contributed to the quarterly price increase. This growth was moderated primarily by computers and computer peripheral equipment (-1.7 percent).
The total MEPI rose 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter in 2018. The import component was up 5.3 percent, while the domestic component increased 1.7 percent. The movement in the import component was influenced by the year-over-year depreciation of the Canadian dollar (-3.5 percent) against the US dollar.